The first woman to climb on the tusks
of America’s largest performing elephant

Nellie on Fritz

Published:09:00Wednesday 17 October 2018

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Following Friday’s short introduction here to pioneering American journalist and author Nellie Bly, Roamer shared several readers’ collective curiosity about the reference to her elephant training!

Nellie Bly was the pen name of Elizabeth Jane Cochran, born in Pennsylvania in 1864, the granddaughter of Robert Cochran who emigrated from Londonderry in the 1790s.

Portrait of a 21-year-old Nellie Bly

Aside from her own books and ubiquitous newspaper articles, which earned her enormous celebrity status, she’s been the subject of numerous profiles, publications, film productions and even a board game based on her journey around the world in 1889.

Friday’s page outlined several of her chilling First World War front-line reports, and her first big ‘scoop’ in 1887 when she feigned madness to report from inside a mental institution.

The passing mention of her elephant training came from an article she wrote in The New York World newspaper.

The article was printed in the February 23rd edition of the newspaper, headlined – ‘A Thrilling Experience with the Immense Animals in their Winter Home’.

Nellie on Fritz

The rest of today’s page is a summarised and edited version of Nellie’s report, beginning with a practice session with eight baby elephants, animals that she “always had an intense fondness for”:

It was with great eagerness I followed my guide through the door into the elephants’ training quarters.

Mr Newman, the trainer, smiled when I told him my business.

“They are greenhorns (inexperienced),” he explained.

Publicity photograph promoting Bly's Around-The-World Journey

“They are only beginning to know their names and a few tricks. You stand by me until I get them into the ring,” he added.